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We have lost our collective minds. This should have been a simple discipline issue at school.
That story doesn't give any real background. These things tend to have precedent and it's impossible to judge them from a distance with so little info.
By middle school kids know not to do that. Is it severe enough to be arrested, no. However, he knew it was wrong unless he has been socialized to prey on girls. He's an eighth grader not a fourth grader. The kid had to be dared to do it...so he knew it was wrong. It's not like kids get dared to behave and get good grades. It's usually stuff that is wrong or dangerous.
A boy kissed a girl on the cheek and hugged her hard at my kids school and was suspended for a day. That was a bit extreme, as they were 9. All the other kids were shocked that he had done that and immediately reported it. They all knew it was wrong. Even the boy admitted that right after.
By your logic, middle schools should be a free for all, full of violence and sexual assault. Then they can just get detention and a talking too. BS. I don't buy that for a minute. Kids are smarter than that. Their brains aren't fully developed, but they know you don't kiss someone at school and you don't force someone to kiss you. Will some kids break the rules, sure. There must be appropriate punishment, and dentention is not appropriate. Some thirteen year olds rape other kids and commit murder. They know it's wrong too.
It is a proven fact that middle schoolers' brains lack decision making skills we adults have. And no, just because I don't believe criminal charges should be used in this situation DOES NOT mean I believe middle schools should be a free for all. Where do you even pull that from??? I've said numerous times the situation should be handled by discipline and possibly therapy.
Again, we do not need to criminalize every wrongdoing.
You know what scares me? You're supposedly a doctor. How can you not know the differences between children and adult brains and how they mature? Or do you know the difference and ignore it in order to fight for your own biases?
I would be mortified but yes. I'd get him a good lawyer.
If this happened to my daughter, I would be fighting against criminal charges for the boy. I would be vocal about the need for discipline and counseling. Ruining another person's life isn't going to help the victim. We need to get over that mentality.
I got flashed by a bum years ago. It scared the **** out of me. He came from behind a building and dropped his pants. I was afraid for awhile to go out by myself. Eventually I started doing so again and everything was good with my world. I wouldn't have wanted this guy arrested. I'd want him to get the help he needed so he didn't do it again. The guy probably had an addiction and/or mental health disorder. Arresting him and throwing him in a cell doesn't help anyone.
Oh, you fellas are so funny with your classic, misogynistic attitudes! Let me guess, she should have taken it as a compliment too, right?
No man or boy has the right to kiss a girl or woman without her consent. There's nothing funny or cute about it.
Are you upset because no boy kissed you when you were that age? I'm in my upper 40's & no one whined about these stupid little crybaby issues. This not is even worth posting on my opinion. Someone was always stealing kisses from the other & no one got their collective panties in a bunch about it.
It's a little too much because of his age, but I am sure the boy's actions here meet the elements of a criminal assault and battery. In other words, he did commit a crime. Hopefully, the DA and/or judge impose an appropriate and fair penalty, and not leave the kid with any criminal record. He made a mistake and shouldn't have to pay for it for the rest of his life (e.g., job application, professional licensure, etc.).
I think being sent to principal's office, getting a talking to and detention, is quite appropriate.
You really think detention and a "talking to" are appropriate for assaulting someone? That's more appropriate for not completing school work or talking back to the teacher. If you don't take serious assaults seriously, you are essentially condoning them. While they went overboard, you are taking this way too lightly. There must be some middle ground.
Yes, their brains aren't fully developed. It doesn't mean they don't know it's wrong. If they don't know it's wrong to force a kiss on someone, they shouldn't be in a regular school setting.
If you treat sexual assault so lightly( detention), the school will devolve into a place where that's seen as okay and not that big a deal. They at least need suspension, might need alternative placement or expulsion spending on the students history. That sends a message to both parents and students that assault is not taken lightly. Detention is assigned for simple transgressions.
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I'm in my upper 40's & no one whined about these stupid little crybaby issues. This not is even worth posting on my opinion. Someone was always stealing kisses from the other & no one got their collective panties in a bunch about it. 
